Thermal perception in a room with radiant cooling panels coupled to a roof pond

Abstract

Roof ponds (RP) can promote comfortable thermal conditions, particularly in single-storey buildings. They allow structural cooling or heating and the stabilisation of surface and air temperatures. When coupled to radiant panels cooled by the exposed pond, they can further improve their thermal performance. However, there is a lack of research on RP focusing on the thermal perception of users indoors. The main objective of this study was to verify, empirically, under summer conditions, the thermal perceptions of volunteer participants in an indoor environment conditioned by a system composed of radiant panels coupled to a RP. We also sought to identify which adaptive model best represents the thermal votes reported by the study participants. As parameters for analysis of reported thermal votes, the PMV model and the passive building model of ASHRAE Standard 55 and EN-15251 were employed. The experiment took place in a test building at Ben-Gurion University of Negev, Israel. The sample consisted of 46 volunteer participants. The RP environment was perceived as comfortable by most volunteers. The thermal votes showed more agreement with the PMV and EN 15251 models than with the ASHRAE model.

Keywords:
Roof pond; Radiant cooling; Passive cooling; Thermal comfort